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“Yes, sir. Thank you. Have a wonderful day.”
I paced the kitchen. What the hell was I going to do with my morning? I wasn’t used to doing nothing, and I imagined my email box piling up with untold messages from clientele. That was one thing I would never allow Derringer to do. The bridges I’d built with the big fish clientele were my business. I could teach him all the important stuff, including legislation and how to manage a team of people or clientele, but he’d never get access to my emails. No one would.
I thought back to the interviews. Alexis was a handful and a half. She was either cheeky to the point of being rude or she was really, really shy. I couldn’t believe how well she had taken to Karly, though, like a duck to water. They got along as well as… Dare I even think it? Nearly as good as with her own mother. That was unheard of. Even Clara had liked her.
Alexis had probably liked her the most because she had intently listened to what she—and Clara—had to say. The other girl hadn’t. She’d been more concerned about how I was feeling about her. She had batted her eyelids as if she’d had something caught in her eye. Fuck, that had been funny. Alexis had naively asked her if she had spilled “somethink” to make her blink so much. Then, she went on to say that Clara could “probabubbly fix it” but that “she didn’t want to because she thought she looked like a witch.” The look on the woman’s face had been priceless. Of course, I’d had to warn Alexis with a timeout if she kept that kind of behavior going.
I really wanted to make my decision. Alexis had liked Karly the best, and, in truth, so had I. She’d come across as warm and bright, and she was extremely beautiful. Not that it should matter. But she was, and I’d be crazy or dead not to notice. She had to be the one. I’d call her and tell her my decision.
My anticipation welled up as I pressed the keys on my cell. I itched to talk to her, which wasn’t something I’d wanted to do in years. Even waiting for her to pick up the phone sped up my heart rate.
“Hello. Karly Lewis speaking.”
“Hello. It’s Damon Jacobs, Alexis’s dad.”
“Oh, Mr. Jacobs. How are you?”
“Please, call me Damon. I’m much better now. I wanted to let you know I believe you’re the best fit for us, for Alexis.”
“Oh, really? That’s wonderful. It’s the best news I’ve had all day.”
The excitement in her voice made me want to talk longer. “How has your day been so far?”
I felt the sunshine in her voice breaking through. I had a knack for feeling others’ emotions. I always knew where I stood with people somehow, kind of like a sixth sense. “Well, I’ve just been cleaning my apartment and hoping you’d call me, actually. Alexis is such a beautiful child. I was blown away by her yesterday.”
My heart pulled as I remembered their interaction. It was as if I hadn’t been there, as if they’d been together for years. They’d had a totally natural, authentic conversation. “Can you start tomorrow afternoon? I really need to be a CEO again. I’m used to being there to oversee it. I have a big client I need to deal with as soon as I possibly can. He’s over from Shanghai.”
“Oh, goodness, it sounds like you have your hands full. Yes, of course. I can be there whenever you need. What time would you like me there?”
“Well, I would be super grateful if you could come by at eight o’clock. Then I can deal with my client.”
“Yes, that’s fine. Is there anything more about Alexis I should know? Like allergies or medical needs?”
“No, but I’m sure she’ll tell you what she likes. And Clara, too, of course.”
Her laugh on the other end of the line was bright and light and like a breath of fresh air coming into me as energy. It was like nothing I’d heard in a long while. “I think it’s just plain gorgeous. That doll is an extension of her, like a little friend she can talk to, a bigger part of herself.”
My heart skipped a beat. She understood her like Alice had. “Yes, it is. Clara had been part of her, ever since her mother…” An awkward silence prompted me to change the subject. “I need to go now. I have some stuff to get organized before I pick up Alexis from kindergarten.”
“Yes, of course. Thank you, Mr. Jac—I mean Damon. I’ll be there at eight.”
“Thank you, Karly. I’ll be waiting for you.” I hung up. My throat still got scratchy when I mentioned Alice, although it was slowly getting easier to cope with. That was especially true when I pushed myself into my work and when I spent time with my buddy, Eric. He’d been a saving grace for me.
